Subaru Reveals Drama of Isle of Man Run (Video)

Mark Higgins goes airborne in a Subaru WRX STI on the Isle of man TT course.

Subaru of America Inc. released video footage of rally racer Mark Higgins driving its 2011 WRX STI to a new course record on the Isle of Man TT circuit.

At just under five and a half minutes the highlight reel is less than a third as long as the actual record run, which took 19 minutes, 37 seconds. But the footage captures the speed and drama of the race, and the downright scary roads that make up the 37-mile Mountain Course. While the island’s scenery is beautiful, its narrow lanes were clearly designed for horse-drawn conveyance, not 160-mph turbocharged Subarus.

Still, the WRX STI looks at home snaking its way through villages and blasting past farm fields. But there were close calls, including what Subaru calls “the moment,” when the car gets loose at the Bray Hill section of the course and fishtails dramatically at about 150 mph.

Higgins talks through the incident in the video and cameras catch his facial expressions and rapid steering as he fights to regain control. You can watch the video of the record run here.

The late rally driver Tony Pond set the previous record in 1990 driving a Rover 827 Vitesse. Back then the big goal was to complete the course with an average speed of 100 mph or higher. The Isle of man is far better-known as a motorcycle racing venue and the best riders have averaged 130 mph there. Still, going fast in a car on such tight roads is an accomplishment. You can watch Pond pursuing the record here.

Pond’s ride had racing-slick tires but was otherwise a production car. Higgins’ Subaru ran on street-legal tires but had a roll cage, fire-suppression system and other race-car safety gear. Its suspension was modified to better handle the course’s notorious jumps, but the car is essentially the same Subaru you can buy at a dealership.